Paramount International controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, together with the conglom’s co-CEO troika, waved pom-poms Sunday night time to workers in regards to the upside to Skydance’s $8 billion takeover of the storied studio, CBS community and Viacom cable networks.
Already, staff are sweating over the looming $500 million in cuts that co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins would usher in an effort to create higher revenue margins. Now comes information of tonight’s Skydance deal.
As we noticed with the Warner Bros Discovery merger, the arrival of latest execs comes with new agendas, recent mission statements and future exec groups. What’s usually not realized by incoming bosses –particularly because the Movement Image aspect of Paramount has constructed a kickass function slate of A Quiet Place: Day One, Transformers One, Smile 2 and Gladiator II this yr — is that if it ain’t broke, properly then, don’t repair it. A lot of Paramount’s pains are the lofty overhead of working a streaming service, coupled with the challenged linear community house.
Skydance Media‘s David Ellison would be the new chairman and CEO of the brand new conglom, with former NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell performing as president after the transaction passes the regulatory course of in early 2025.
Redstone praised Skydance in tonight’s memo, saying partly, “They’ve a transparent strategic imaginative and prescient for the long run and the assets to construct on Paramount International’s aggressive benefits to drive the Firm’s success.” Skydance has been an enormous co-financier to Paramount’s mega-tentpoles High Gun: Maverick, Star Trek and the Mission: Inconceivable franchise.
She additionally thanked workers for build up the leisure firm her father Sumner Redstone created, one by which content material is king. “That has by no means been extra vital than it’s as we speak, when in a cluttered market, we proceed to create content material that resonates with our customers, that they regularly hunt down, and that retains them wanting extra,” she instructed staff within the notice.
“Our success is due to you, what you’ve got finished individually, and much more importantly, as a staff,” she emphasised.
Regardless of the 45-day go-shop interval, it feels like Redstone has made up her thoughts that Paramount International is Skydance’s to lose: “The settlement we entered into as we speak is topic to closing situations, and we anticipate the deal to be accomplished within the first half of 2025.”
Learn Redstone’s notice to Paramount International staff under:
Good night. Simply moments in the past, it was introduced that we have now entered into an settlement below which Skydance Media will purchase Nationwide Amusements and merge Skydance’s enterprise with Paramount International. I wished to take this chance to achieve out to you straight not solely to share the information, however to precise my super gratitude to each one in every of you for what we have now been capable of accomplish collectively for the previous a number of many years.
As you understand, my father constructed Viacom and CBS by bringing collectively a bunch of one of the best property in media, information, and leisure. Whereas folks usually debated whether or not content material or distribution dominated the day, my father was ruled in all of his selections by his perception that content material was certainly king. That has by no means been extra vital than it’s as we speak, when in a cluttered market, we proceed to create content material that resonates with our customers, that they regularly hunt down, and that retains them wanting extra. Our success is due to you, what you’ve got finished individually, and much more importantly, as a staff.
Seeing the way in which you’ve got come collectively since we launched Paramount International has been one of many highlights of my years at this firm, and your accomplishments are evident throughout the enterprise. Paramount+ is among the many fastest-growing streaming providers with an distinctive vary of content material interesting to all demographics. CBS has been the #1 broadcast community for 16 years and operating, with clear energy throughout genres. Paramount Photos has produced eight #1 films prior to now two years alone and continues to create hit after hit. Our linear networks have delivered culture-shaping content material that excites audiences, together with the launch of the “Taylor Sheridan universe” with Yellowstone on the Paramount Community. And, Pluto TV is as we speak essentially the most extensively distributed FAST service.
As all this was completed, we remained devoted to educating and informing ourselves and our audiences in our efforts to battle hate and discrimination, and supporting different vital causes within the US and around the globe. I’m so grateful to all of you for what we have now been capable of accomplish to make a distinction.
Our household has all the time been dedicated to persevering with my Dad’s legacy and guaranteeing Paramount’s enduring success. Per that, because the tempo of change within the business has continued to speed up, it has been our accountability to work with management to make modifications to be able to keep our aggressive place and gasoline development, considering of each the close to and long run. Most just lately, this led to the appointment of George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins as Co-CEOs, to take the significant actions essential to bolster the Firm each operationally and financially. I believe we will all agree on their huge contributions to this firm. On the similar time, as you understand, our Board has targeted on guaranteeing we’re pursuing all alternatives to finest place the Firm for the long run and maximize worth creation for all shareholders.
As a longtime manufacturing associate to Paramount, Skydance is properly conscious of what we have now completed through the years and it’s for that cause that they’ve pursued a mix with Paramount. They’ve a transparent strategic imaginative and prescient for the long run and the assets to construct on Paramount International’s aggressive benefits to drive the Firm’s success.
The settlement we entered into as we speak is topic to closing situations, and we anticipate the deal to be accomplished within the first half of 2025. Till then, George, Chris, and Brian will proceed to guide the Firm, and they are going to be sharing extra with you shortly. I after all may even be right here to cheer you on, and help in any approach that I can. It has really been my honor to work with all of you these previous a number of years, and to see so lots of our goals come to fruition.
I wish to specific my deepest because of you in your dedication, arduous work, and most significantly your assist of my household and me. In opposition to a difficult business backdrop and lots of modifications on the firm, you’ve got protected Paramount’s property and delivered for our audiences. As I’ve stated earlier than, and I’ll all the time say, we have now one of the best folks within the enterprise right here at Paramount and it’s really a privilege to work with you. I’ll all the time treasure the relationships I’ve had with you and the methods we have now labored collectively to tell apart ourselves in our business.
All one of the best, Shari
